Legal Aspects of Public School Administration

This research paper summarizes the legal aspects of personnel administration in the American public school system. It focuses primarily on the legal problems which arise out of the actions of school districts, administrators, teachers and students and their impact on those groups and on parents and the community. The public school system has become much more legally intensive because it is operating under very severe pressures and is undergoing significant changes. For the personnel or human relations function, the most important areas of concern are the following: (1) the tort liability of school districts, administrators and teachers under state law; (2) the effects on school liabilities and school discipline of the recent upsurge of equalaccess constitutional litigation; (3) the evolving rights and responsibilities of teachers; and (4) new legal problems produced by recent educational reforms.

Tort Liability of Schools and Teachers

Traditionally, courts have been reluctant to interfere with the exercise of discretion by school districts, administrators and teachers, except in cases involving a clear abuse of that discretion, a lack of good faith or other violations of state law. At one time, public school administrators (but not teachers) were exempt from civil liability to students or others under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. According to Tanner (1972), the general rule was that "school distr

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According to Murphy (1990), "a series of . . . court decisions have firmly established that a child who is HIV positive and fits within CDC (Center for Disease Control) guidelines for an unrestricted setting should be admitted to a regular classroom" (p. 346). Under a line of federal cases, beginning with the Supreme Court case of Honig v. Doe (1988), the courts have rejected as inadequate school plans for mainstreaming disabled or handicapped students into their classrooms or providing alternative facilities for them. They have also overturned actions taken by schools to isolate such students after they became disruptive. Hardaway (1995) criticizes these decisions as representing "a fair and wellintentioned policy [which] has been taken to an extreme" (p. 30). Bartlett (1993) said the courts have been insensitive to the cost constraints under which schools must operate (p. 60). Hardaway (1995) added that, "under current law a public school that disciplines an individual or suspends a violent student is likely to face a law suit" (p. 30). After the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 provided federal funding for Limited English Proficiency children, the Supreme Court in Lau v. Nichols held that "a failure to provide
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Walker Roder, Strickland Wood, Supreme Court, American Jurisprudence, Law Education, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, District Columbia, Fourth Amendment, School District, South Southwest, public schools, supreme court, hardaway 1995, journal law education, journal law, law education, public school, newman 1990, recent developments, school board, school district, law education 22, public school system, walker roder 1993, bartlett helms 1993,
Approximate Word count = 4428
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)

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